A wicked cold = not too many experiences, and yet….

There is much to tell despite only having been here two days and having slept most of those two days. I can only imagine what I would have to tell if I had energy to really be up and about. So here is my list and today I think that a list is appropriate of interesting things in the last two days.

1. People here are very friendly. Pretty much every British person I have met has been incredibly kind, helpful and friendly. I think that might be all that needs to be said though for interest I sat next to a wonderful girl on the plane, who oddly enough, has Mormon relatives and has therefore been to Utah and knows about my beliefs (small world). The people I am renting from are really nice and very hospitable. One even worked from home for the day to make sure they were here when I arrived from my flight and to make sure I was comfortable. Really nice people = a easy transition.

2. We do not speak the same language despite calling it the same thing and using the same dictionary. In my ignorance I thought I had planned for it all. I even bought travel adapters or power converters to make sure I could charge my plethora of electronic devices. Sadly, despite the fact I knew the that UK is very different from the rest of Europe I forgot they would have different power plug. In my attempt to purchase an adapter, as my battery power sunk lower and lower, I discovered we do not speak the same language all the time. Apparently it is not called a power adapter or a converter but a tourist plug. Well… okay then it only took me maybe two hours to find the place that sold one as I had to explain it 10 ways till I was understood. Thankfully as the mentioned I have very nice people I am renting from, and they had some adapters that they provided until the one I ordered can come in. On the bright side at least they understand the words I use to describe the adapters- I doubt Portugal will be as easy but main point : British English does not = US English

3. There are some very different ways of life. Eggs are found in the baking isle, in the non-refrigerated section = my mind bubble reads ‘oh dear’. In fact the whole layout of the grocery store is very odd for me. Not bad- just different. Not to mention the first time (only time so far) that I have ridden on the wrong side of the road- golly wolly! I am so glad I didn’t rent a car right out of the airport. I had mini heart attacks just riding in the the back of the taxi watching cars come at us thinking ‘we are going to crash!’ All of the stores here seem to close by 5 or 6 with nothing open for shopping. Fashion, units of measure, smiling at people while passing, all very different from what I am used to. Which is the point of traveling the world. If everything were the same- I should have just stayed in the US, so I am glad that it is odd, but it has taken me a lot longer to buy some simple groceries than it would have and I am unsure, but there seems to be a unwritten rule of intense silence on the tube. So intense the I could hear the person next to me swallow and my head turned every time someone turned the morning paper all this while being crammed full- so despite the fact that they show US shows on TV does not = being in the US. (Oh as a side note for my mom- Murder she Wrote is on TV right now- some things never change 🙂 )

4. I slept 14 hours straight- not something my pup would have allowed. I slept better than I have in a long time. So new adventures await as I get healthy and adapt to being in Europe. Cold, jet lag, stress and no pup to wake me up (despite missing him already) = lots of sleep!

So this is what I have learned so far, can’t wait to see what I learn next.

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3 thoughts on “A wicked cold = not too many experiences, and yet….”

Yay, so glad things are going well so far. So funny about the power adapters. No matter how hard we try I guess it’s impossible to plan for everything.

Grocery stores are just never laid out in a way that makes sense for me. For instance, why on earth is canned pumpkin in the baking aisle rather than with the rest of canned food, and why is bottled applesauce in a different place than the applesauce cups? It is not out of the ordinary for me to call my mother when I can’t find something. (She always can tell me where to find things, and on many occasions the actual grocery store employees haven’t been able to).

Yay, so glad things are going well so far. So funny about the power adapters. No matter how hard we try I guess it’s impossible to plan for everything.

Grocery stores are just never laid out in a way that makes sense for me. For instance, why on earth is canned pumpkin in the baking aisle rather than with the rest of canned food, and why is bottled applesauce in a different place than the applesauce cups? It is not out of the ordinary for me to call my mother when I can’t find something. (She always can tell me where to find things, and on many occasions the actual grocery store employees haven’t been able to).